PrzeSzkoda

PrzeSzkoda

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Freelance translations and writing with a literary touch
I specialize in translating literature of various kinds and styles
(both poetry and prose), and also deal with translating role-playing
game books and computer games' dialogue lines and manuals, but am
knowledgeable in almost any subject, especially in the area of
humanities. I am also capable of proofreading and editing a variety of
texts, both in English and Polish.
Since March 2005 I am a freelance writer in both English and Polish.
Known languages: Polish (native), English (proficient), German
(intermediate), Latin (basic).
Specialization:
Prose, poetry, computer games, role-playing games, history, philosophy.
Other interests:
Social and political sciences, technology and science, art, psychology
and pedagogy.
Notable experience:
- translation of a novel for a Polish publishing house (Joseph
Nelluvely, Come to Krakow, published by Ex-Libris);
- translation of a short story („Klejmo" by Katarzyna Sowula) from
Polish into English;
- translation of cell-phone games for PartnerTrans GMBH;
- editing and proofreading for ;
- translation of articles for the official Polish Dungeons & Dragons
website ();
- various other project for direct customers.
Additional qualifications:
Certificate of Proficiency in English, Grade A (December 2004)
Sample translation:
IV. The beginnings of the mind and language
The newborn child is at first no more than an animal. Indeed, it is
among the lowest and most helpless of all animals, a mere vegetative
lump; assimilation incarnate wailing. It is for the first day in its
life deaf, it squints blindly at the world, its limbs are beyond its
control, its hands clutch drowningly at anything whatever that drifts
upon this vast sea of being into which it has plunged so amazingly.
And imperceptibly, subtly, so subtly that never at any time can we
mark with certainty the increment of its coming, there creeps into
this soft and claimant little creature a mind, a will, a personality,
the beginning of all that is real and spiritual in man. In a little
while there are eyes full of interest and clutching hands full of
purpose, smiles and frowns, the babbling beginning of expression and
affections and aversions. Before the first year is out there is
obedience and rebellion, choice and self-control, speech has
commenced, and the struggle of the newcomer to stand on his feet in
this world of men. The process is unanalyzable; given a certain
measure of care and protection, these things come spontaneously; with
the merest rough encouragement of things and voices about the child,
they are evoked.
- Herbert George Wells; Mankind in the Making (source: )
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IV. Pocztki umysBu i jzyka
Nowo narodzone dziecko z pocztku niczym nie ró|ni si od zwierzcia.
WBa[ciwie nale|y do najni|szych rang i najbardziej bezradnych ze
wszystkich zwierzt, jest zaledwie wegetujcym stworzeniem
nieokre[lonego ksztaBtu, zawodzcym od momentu poczcia. Pierwszego
dnia |ycia jest gBuche, spoglda na [wiat niewidzcymi oczyma spod
przymknitych powiek, nie ma wBadzy nad wBasnymi czBonkami - niczym
toncy czBowiek chwyta si wszystkiego, co dryfuje po tym niezwykle
rozlegBym morzu bytu, do którego w tak niezwykBy sposób dostpiBo. I
niepostrze|enie, delikatnie, tak delikatnie, |e nie mo|na mie
pewno[ci co do chwili ich nadej[cia, w to mikkie i niewinne
stworzenie wkradaj si umysB, wola, osobowo[ - zacztek wszystkiego,
co stanowi o czBowieczeDstwie i ludzkiej duszy. Po chwili oczy
spogldaj na wszystko ciekawie, rce sigaj wszystkiego [wiadome
swego celu, pojawiaj si pierwsze u[miechy i grymasy - beBkotliwy
pocztek wyra|ania sympatii i niechci. Nim minie pierwszy rok
wyksztaBc si ju| posBuszeDstwo i bunt, wybór i samokontrola,
rozwinie si mowa, nowo przybyBy w tym ludzkim [wiecie rozpocznie bój
o ustanie na wBasnych nogach. Niemo|liwa jest analiza tego procesu;
je|eli zapewni odpowiedni ilo[ opieki i ochrony te czynniki
wyksztaBcaj si spontanicznie; s przywoBywane wraz ze [ladow
zacht ze strony gBosów i rzeczy otaczajcych dziecko.
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Writing samples:
It is claimed that a person who knows a language is able to
communicate in that language. But what do students have to know in
order to communicate efficiently? For instance, in sign language,
gestures are essential for conveying information. In the English
language it is the experience of most teachers that the single,
biggest component of any language course is, or at least should be,
vocabulary. No matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter
how successfully the phonetics are mastered, without words to express
a wide range of meanings, communication in proper phonetics cannot
take place in any meaningful way. And yet vocabulary seems to be least
systematized and the least well catered to of all the aspects of
learning of a foreign language.
- Vocabulary learning strategies among young students
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As I drive through the city full of dizzying lights and herds of human
flesh storming the streets, I'm filled with a palpable sense of
wonder. But by no means is it caused by the civilization, the product
of human thought - not by a long shot. At least not in the way people
usually delight themselves in such contraptions. I am stunned and
amazed by the fact that, despite their animalistic behaviour, people
dare to claim that they're somehow special and different, considerably
better than other animals. That what they've achieved is so very
precious that it's simply unthinkable not to try to protect what we
(they always say 'we') have got. From what, non-existent God only
knows. And, considering the very basics of the issue, what is there to
protect, really? From what I can see by looking past my windshields,
the only advancement made by mankind since the time Neanderthals died
out has been made in the area of science. The rest, apart from few and
far between individuals that somehow intuited how to draw themselves
apart from the so-called 'society', morally, ethically, emotionally
and even intellectually, is still deeply rooted in ideas created
millenias ago. Right now humanity isn't even on a downward spiral -
it's damn entropy on fast-forward.
- short story My very own God